Universal precursor seismicity pattern before locked-segment rupture

Despite the enormous efforts towards searching for precursors, no precursors have exhibited real predictive power with respect to an earthquake thus far. Seismogenic locked segments that can accumulate adequate strain energy to cause major earthquakes are very heterogeneous and less brittle; progressive failures of the locked segments with these properties can produce an interesting seismic phenomenon: a characteristic earthquake and a sequence of smaller subsequent earthquakes (pre-shocks) always arise prior to another characteristic earthquake within a well-defined seismic zone and its current seismic period. Applying a mechanical model and magnitude constraint conditions, we show that two adjacent characteristic earthquakes reliably occur at the volume-expansion and peak-stress points of a locked segment. Such a seismicity pattern has occurred in 62 seismic zones worldwide, suggesting that the pattern applies universally. Both the precursor pattern and the model quantifying it permit the prediction of certain characteristic earthquakes in a seismic zone.